Hand Held Electronic Device with an Air Mouse

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a set of construction elements comprising a plurality of flat plates ( 1 - 10 ) of a constant thickness (v), each plates having a central part (K 1 -K 10 ) with a planar figure defined by linear edges in top plane view, said plates being made of a material of high static friction, and wherein along at least one peripheral edge of the central part (K 1 -K 10 ) of the plates ( 1 - 10 ) a plurality of teeth ( 42 ) of constant width (sz) laterally projecting therefrom and a plurality of toothless sections ( 43 ) are alternately arranged in a manner that while moving round the circumference of said plate ( 1 - 10 ) in any direction, each one of the edges which comprises teeth starts with a tooth ( 42 ) and ends with a toothless section ( 43 ), or vice versa, and wherein each one of the teeth ( 42 ) is in the form of a body having edges orthogonal to the edges of the planar figure forming the respective central part (K 1 -K 10 ).

The present invention relates to a set of construction elements, inparticular a set of construction elements of high variability, said setincluding a plurality of flat plates with simple basic geometricfigures, from which a large number of stable, even life-sizedconfigurations of two-dimensional and three-dimensional shapes, toys andleisure-time tools can be assembled easily and in an entertainingmanner. The present invention further relates to a construction assemblyformed of such a set of construction elements.

The document U.S. Pat. No. 2,014,464 discloses a set of constructionelements wherein various configurations can be assembled partly fromaluminum plates provided with through-holes, and partly fromready-to-use construction elements by securing them by means of screws.The disadvantages of this solution include the rather low level ofvariability, the need of use of an instrument and its dimensionallimitations. The newest version of this solution is the so called“Erector set” (manufacturer: Meccano Making System), from which robotshaving a height of even 60 cm can be built but the afore-mentionedproblems still exist here. The special-purpose sets of constructionelements of the Fischertechnik company, which include high-techsupplements, also work in a similar way.

The document US 2004/0253902 describes a plastic construction toy inwhich plates can be snap-fitted into frames formed of tubes that can beconnected by short flexible rods. Although this toy allows a much higherlevel of variability than the above mentioned solutions, it is stilldifficult to assemble the elements and due to the small size of thebasic elements, the volume of an assembled object is rather limited.

In the set of construction elements described in the patentspecification U.S. Pat. No. 3,005,282, the construction blocks may havea huge number of configurations but this is due to the small size andthe very large number of the basic construction elements and also to theinterposition of a large number of special construction elements. Thissolution also has the problems that the substantially rectangular basicelements can be connected only in parallel or perpendicularly to oneanother, the bottom of an element can be connected only to the bottom ofanother element and the way of connection is also very limited.

There is a need therefore to assemble a relatively low number of basicelements having a high level of variability without the use of aninstrument in a manner that the size of the assembled objects can beeven life-sized while the production of a set of these elements has alow cost.

Such solutions are introduced in the patent specifications U.S. Pat. No.4,886,477 and CA 2035122 A1 which disclose various sets of constructionelements wherein flexible plates having basic geometric figures areconnected in plane through meshing teeth and notches formed along theirlateral edges. The three-dimensional connections thereof is, however,solved by additional elements, which makes the three-dimensionalconstruction complicated and does not allow multiple three-dimensionalobjects built from the set of elements to be further connected to eachother.

Similarly to the above solutions, the patent specification US2005/0287906 describes construction elements made of planar figureshaving teeth and notches, but the interconnection of thethree-dimensional objects assembled from those construction elements canbe carried out only by means of special separate connecting elements,which restricts the variability and also results in additionalmanufacturing costs.

It is an object of the present invention to eliminate the abovementioned drawbacks by providing a set of construction elements, whereinthe elements can be releasably interconnected in a plane and even inspace in multiple ways without using an instrument or separateconnecting elements, and wherein the blocks and modules resulted fromthe three-dimensional interconnection of the elements can be assembledinto further stable, even more complex objects in a similar way, withoutthe use of intermediate elements, substantially independently of thesize of the objects. It is a further object of the invention that theblocks and the modules assembled from the construction elements can beconnected to each other even in a shifted or rotated position thereof.

It is yet another object of the invention to provide a set ofconstruction elements that forms a modular construction system includingcheap and simple plates.

It is still another object of the present invention that thethree-dimensional configurations made from the construction elements canbe connected to each other with any one of their faces in multipledirections and they can be disassembled by applying a relatively lowforce while, due to another kind of interconnection, the binding forcesbetween the assembled blocks are strong enough to make the assemblystable and to prevent its disassembly through a simple withdrawal of theblocks.

The above objects are achieved by providing a set of constructionelements comprising a plurality of flat plates of a constant thicknessv, each plates having a central part with a planar figure defined bylinear edges in top plane view, said plates being made of a material ofhigh static friction. Along at least one peripheral edge of the centralpart of the plates a plurality of teeth of constant width sz laterallyprojecting therefrom and a plurality of toothless sections arealternately arranged in a manner that while moving round thecircumference of said plate in any direction, each one of the edgeswhich comprises teeth starts with a tooth and ends with a toothlesssection, or vice versa. Each one of the teeth is in the form of a bodyhaving edges orthogonal to the edges of the planar figure forming therespective central part.

On each plate, at least a portion of the teeth are primary teeth with alength h measured in a direction orthogonal to the respective edge ofsaid planar figure defining the central part, said length h exceedingthe thickness v of said plate, and wherein the length h of said primaryteeth satisfies the condition: h=2*sz−v.

One or more plates optionally comprise a plurality of secondary teethhaving a length h′ measured in a direction orthogonal to the respectiveedge of the plane figure defining the central part, said length h′ beingequal to or smaller than the thickness v of the plates.

The width sz, the length h and the overprojection t of the teeth and thethickness v of the plates satisfy the following dimensional conditions:p*sz=2*v+t; and h=v+t, wherein p is a positive even number.

The planar figure is preferably one or more planar figures selected fromthe group of triangle, square, rectangle, pentagon, hexagon.

The plates may comprise rectangular indents in a portion of saidtoothless sections along the peripheral edge of the planar figuredefining said central part, said indents being formed in a directionorthogonal to the respective edge of the planar figure, and wherein theplates may further comprise rectangular apertures at predeterminedpositions inside the planar figure, wherein the length of the indentsand the apertures is equal to or greater than the width sz of the teeth,and wherein the width q of the indents and the apertures is equal to orgreater than the thickness v of the plates.

In a preferred embodiment of the set of construction elements, one ormore plates comprise solely primary teeth.

Preferably, the plates are made of a material selected from the group ofplastic, in particular polyethylene and polyurethane, wood and paper.The plates are preferably made of a resilient, flexible material.

In a preferred embodiment of the set of construction elements, theplates can be bent by 180 degrees, i.e. they can be folded back ontothemselves.

In a particularly preferred embodiment of the set of constructionelements, the central part of the plates has a square or rectangularshape, and wherein the length L of one of the edges of the plates andthe length w of the other edge of the plates being orthogonal to thefirst one satisfy the following conditions: L=n*sz; w=k*sz; and n=2*k+p,where n, k and p are positive even numbers.

The above objects are further achieved by providing a constructionassembly which comprises a plurality of plates of the above mentionedset of construction elements, wherein the plates are connected to eachother in plane or in space, and wherein the engaging primary teeth, andoptionally the engaging secondary teeth, form releasable bindings bymeans of friction.

In a preferred embodiment of the set of construction assembly, theconstruction assembly comprises a plurality of plates of the abovementioned set of construction elements, wherein the plates are connectedto each other in space so that the plates form one or more rectangularprisms, and wherein the engaging primary teeth, and optionally theengaging secondary teeth, form releasable bindings by means of friction.

In a particularly preferred embodiment of the construction assembly, theplates of the set of construction elements form multiple rectangularprisms of the same size, wherein for the edge lengths s1, s2 of at leastone plate of said rectangular prisms satisfy the condition:2*s1+p*sz=s2, where s1≤s2 and where the edge lengths s1, s2 of a plateare defined as the lengths of the mutually orthogonal edges of thecentral part of the plate, sz is the width of the teeth, and p is apositive even number.

Preferably, in the construction assembly the plates form a plurality ofbodies and the construction assembly comprises at least one modifiedplate that entirely or partly form one of the sides of two or moreadjacent bodies, and wherein the adjacent bodies accommodate on the sameside of said common plate.

In an alternative embodiment of the construction assembly, the platesform a plurality of bodies, and the construction assembly comprises atleast one modified plate that is arranged as an additional element onthe respective faces of at least two adjacent bodies.

The present invention will now be described in detail with reference tothe drawings, in which

FIG. 1.a is a top plan view of a plurality of elements with basicgeometric figures (including a rectangular, triangular, pentagonal orhexagonal central part) in a preferred embodiment of the set ofconstruction elements according to the invention, wherein the elementsare provided with teeth at each of their peripheral edges;

FIG. 1.b is a top plan view of a plurality of elements with basicgeometric figures (including a rectangular, triangular, pentagonal orhexagonal central part) in a preferred embodiment of the set ofconstruction elements according to the invention, wherein not all of theperipheral edges of the elements are provided with teeth;

FIG. 1.c is a side view of the plate 2 shown in FIG. 1.a;

FIG. 2 is an axonometric view of a block (cube) formed by using the setof construction elements according to the invention;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a complex body, taken in the plane of thetop plate thereof, including three square-base prisms formed by usingthe set of construction elements according to the invention;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of a number of exemplary construction elementsof universal, interconnectible rectangular prisms that can be formed byusing the set of construction elements according to the invention,wherein said prisms can be attached to each other at any one of theirfaces in a direction parallel to any one of their edges;

FIG. 5 is an axonometric view of an exemplary universal rectangularprism made from the set of construction elements shown in FIG. 4,wherein said prisms can be attached to each other at any one of theirfaces in a direction parallel to any one of their edges;

FIG. 6 is an axonometric view of a complex body made from twosquare-base prisms formed by using the set of construction elementsaccording to the invention, wherein said complex body includes, on itstop and bottom sides, a plate with indents and apertures;

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of exemplary plates adapted for bridginginterconnection of three-dimensional blocks in a preferred embodiment ofthe set of construction elements according to the invention;

FIGS. 8.a and 8.b are side views of a body made from two rectangularprisms formed by using the set construction elements according to theinvention, in an initial state of the body (FIG. 8.a) and in afolded-back state thereof (FIG. 8.b);

FIGS. 9.a and 9.b are a side view (FIG. 9.a) and a top plan view (FIG.9b ) of a body made from two prisms formed by using the set ofconstruction elements according to the invention, wherein a furtherconstruction element is put on the top face of the body to provide amore secure connection between the two prisms;

FIG. 10 is a top plan view of a number of construction elements adaptedfor an even more secure bridging interconnection of three-dimensionalbodies in another preferred embodiment of the set of constructionelements according to the invention;

FIGS. 11.a and 11.b depict two chains which can be built from theconstruction elements shown in FIG. 7; and

FIGS. 12.a and 12.b illustrate a body formed by using the set ofconstruction elements according to the invention, wherein two oppositefaces of the body are provided with a central hole.

As shown in FIGS. 1.a and 1.b, the set of construction elementsaccording to the present invention includes a plurality of plates 1 to10 having various basic geometric shapes and a fixed thickness v, saidplates having a central part K1 to K10 (indicated by hatch lines), theshape of which corresponds to a planar figure, like triangle, square,pentagon, hexagon, etc. Along the peripheral edges of the central partK1 to K7 of the plates 1 to 7 shown in FIG. 1.a, a plurality of teeth 42laterally projecting from the plates 1 to 7 and having a rectangularshape in top plan view, as well as respective toothless sections 43 arealternately formed in a manner that while moving round along thecircumference of the planar figure in any direction, each peripheraledge of the plates 1 to 7 starts with a tooth 42 and ends with atoothless section 43, or vice versa. In case of the plates 8 to 10 shownin FIG. 1.b, not all of the edges of the central parts K8 to K10 areprovided with teeth. In the embodiment of the set of constructionelement according to the invention shown in FIGS. 1.a and 1.b, the widthsz of the teeth 42 is equal to the width of the toothless sections 43,the latter being therefore also indicated by the reference sign sz. Theteeth 42 and the toothless sections 43, which have the same width, allowconnection and disconnection of the plates 1 to 10 by exerting a weakerforce due to the static friction between said plates.

The thickness v of the plates is shown in FIG. 1.c, in which the plate 2of FIG. 1.a can be seen in a side view.

Each of the teeth 42 is formed as a body having edges perpendicular tothe peripheral edges of the planar figure forming the central part K1 toK10, preferably in the form of a rectangular prism. Obviously, thethree-dimensional shape of the teeth 42 has importance primarily in adirection orthogonal to the peripheral edge of the planar figure formingthe central part of the construction elements because of thecorresponding lateral contact (friction) between the engaging teeth,while at the same time, the three-dimensional shape of the outer endportion of the teeth is less interesting from the point of view of theinvention. The only restriction is that the end portion of the teeth 42should also be enclosed in a rectangular prism projecting from thecentral part. Consequently, any three-dimensional form different fromthe rectangular prism that satisfies the afore-mentioned condition maybe suitable for the teeth 42, and those three-dimensional forms alsofall into the scope of the present invention.

In the embodiment depicted in FIGS. 1.a and 1.b, each of the teeth alongthe peripheral edges of the plates 1 to 10 are primary teeth 42, alength h of which in a direction perpendicular to the peripheral edge ofthe planar figure exceeds the thickness v of the plates 1 to 10.

As it will be described later in detail with reference to FIG. 3, thelength h and the width sz of these primary teeth 42 and the thickness vof the plates 1 to 10 should satisfy the following condition so that thethree-dimensional bodies made from the plates 1 to 10 can betransversally attached to each other:

h=2*sz−v.

As it can be seen in FIGS. 1.a and 1.b, in an exemplary embodiment ofthe set of construction elements the teeth 42 shaped as rectangularprisms and the toothless section 43 are all arranged in a uniformmanner, asymmetrically along the entire length of the peripheral edges,i.e. while moving round along the toothed edges of a planar figureforming the central part K1 to K10 of a plate 1 to 10, for example,counter-clockwise, always a tooth is first met and the given peripheraledge ends with a toothless section. Obviously, toothing can be formed ina reverse order as well, and by overturning a plate 1 to 10 the order ofthe teeth and the toothless sections also becomes reverse.

With the toothing shown in FIG. 1.a, after a proper interconnection ofthe plates 1 to 7, a tooth on one plate faces a toothless section ofanother plate. Upon sliding two plates entirely into each other, theteeth of one plate continuously fits to the complementary toothlesssections of the other plate and thereby the teeth, which become adjacentto each other after the connecting operation, secure the plates to eachother with a substantial force due to the static friction between thecontacting lateral surfaces of the teeth. As a result, a substantiallystable two-dimensional or three-dimensional assembly can be built byusing the elements of the set of construction elements.

The use of the construction elements comprising toothless edges as shownin FIG. 1.b (namely, plates 8 to 10) is primarily beneficial when thosekinds of bodies are attached to each other that are assembled fromplates not having or only partly having a central part of rectangular(or square) shape.

When two construction elements are to be connected to one another, theangle between the planes of the two plates can be continuously changedwithin a wide range during their sliding together. From the plates ofthe set of construction elements according to the invention, a pluralityof bodies with various shapes and sizes, such as cubes, rectangularprisms, tetrahedrons, dodecahedrons, etc. can be built in theoreticallyany size. The set of construction elements according to the inventioncan be also used in a way that the three-dimensional bodies assembledfrom the plates can be connected to each other by means of the teeth andthus further bodies of even larger sizes can be formed from the plateswithout using additional connecting elements. The size of a body unit ora complex body is only limited, with taking the stability into account,by the extent of the binding force resulted from the friction betweenthe teeth. The dimensional ranges can be extended, for example, by meansof bindings with common elements (see later), wherein the role of thefriction between the teeth becomes less significant.

In FIG. 2 an axonometric view of a cube 24 formed by using the set ofconstruction elements according to the invention can be seen. The cube24 consists of plates 2 that have a square-shape central part and thatcomprise two teeth along each of their peripheral edges. The adjacentplates 2 form an angle of 90 degrees. As it can be clearly seen in thisfigure, the length h of the teeth exceeds the thickness v of the platesby an overprojection t, while the width sz of the teeth and that of thetoothless sections are the same.

As it can be also clearly seen in FIG. 2, the overprojection t of theprimary teeth of the plates of the set of construction elementsaccording to the invention allows that further series of teeth andtoothless sections between said teeth can be formed in multipledirections along the edges of the bodies assembled from the plates bysliding them together, due to which it becomes possible that the teethprovided along the edges of one of the thus formed bodies can be engagedto the (shifted) teeth provided along the edges of the other one of thethus formed bodies, and the two bodies can be attached to each otherthrough binding provided by the teeth. The necessary binding between thetwo interconnected bodies is provided by the static frictional forceacting along the side surfaces of the opposite teeth. This binding,however, can be released through a relatively weak force (for example bywithdrawal of the bodies).

FIG. 3 shows a body formed by combining three identical rectangularprisms 100, 101, 102 by using the set of construction elements accordingto the invention, in a sectional view taken in the plane of the topplate of the body. As it can be clearly seen in FIG. 3, the double ofthe width sz of the teeth in the set of construction elements accordingto the invention is equal to the sum of the length h of the primaryteeth 42 and the thickness v of the plates, i.e.

2*sz=h+v=(v+t)+v=2*v+t.

From this condition, the length of the primary teeth 42 can be expressedby the following equation:

h=2*sz−v.

These dimensional criteria make it possible for the set of constructionelements according to the invention that the rectangular prisms (or ingeneral, any three-dimensional bodies) assembled from the elements, aswell as the multiply integrated bodies can be attached to each other inmultiple directions without the use of any additional binding element ina manner that the rectangular prisms (or in general, thethree-dimensional bodies) can be firmly secured to each other even in ashifted and/or rotated manner (i.e. in a parallel-shifted or transversalbond).

With the body shown in FIG. 3, the length L of the central part of therectangular prism 102 is equal to the sum of the double of the width wof the central part of the plates forming the base of the rectangularprisms 100, 101, and the distance t between the rectangular prisms 100,101, i.e.

L=2*w+T

In the above equation the distance t between the rectangular prisms isdefined by the distance between the central parts of the side surfacesfitting to each other in a plane, as it can be seen in FIG. 3.

In case the rectangular prisms that satisfy the above conditions arebuilt from elements having a central part of a square or rectangularshape comprised in the set of construction elements according to theinvention, it is also true for the thus obtained rectangular prisms thattwo identically sized rectangular prisms, which are interconnected in analigned manner along their side faces having the same edge lengths, canbe connected to a third identical rectangular prism in a crosswisefashion, also in alignment, wherein the three prisms together form aneven larger rectangular prism, a so called module of rectangular prisms.From this kind of modules further, even larger modules can be assembled.

Based on FIG. 3, it is clear (and it is also straight-forward from theabove facts) that

T=2*v+t.

As FIG. 3 also illustrates, the crosswise interconnectivity of therectangular bodies have the further condition that the distance tbetween the rectangular prisms should be equal to a multiplication ofthe width sz of the teeth and an even number p because the teeth on oneof the shorter sides of the rectangular prisms and the teeth on asuccessively longer side of the rectangular prisms can engage only atthe satisfaction of this condition (wherein the teeth on one of theshorter sides of the prisms engage with the toothless sections of thesuccessively longer side of another prism which fits crosswise thereto).Accordingly,

T=p*sz

where p is a positive even number. The aligned connectivity of therectangular prisms has the following further conditions:

L=n*sz

w=k*sz

where L is the length of those longer faces of the rectangular prismsthat are in contact with each other in a given transversal plane, w isthe length of the successively shorter contacting faces of therectangular prisms, sz is the width of the teeth, and n and k arepositive even numbers.

From the above equation:

p*sz=2*v+t

h=v+t

From the above and the previous equations:

n=2*k+p

Upon the satisfaction of this condition an infinite number of a furthercomplex body can be assembled from the rectangular prisms made of theplates of the construction set according to the invention.

Generally, the bodies built from the construction elements according tothe invention can be assembled in a shifted manner only if the width sz,the length h and the overprojection t of the teeth, and the thickness vof the plates satisfy the following dimensional conditions:

p*sz=2*v+t

and

h=v+t.

In the following Table 1 some examples are shown for the above parameterset, which provide modularity of the rectangular prisms.

TABLE 1 t L (mm) n k p sz (mm) h (mm) v (mm) w (mm) (mm) 1. 300.0 10 4 230.0 45.0 15.0 120.0 30.0 2. 96.0 16 6 4 6 18.0 6.0 36.0 12.0 3. 100.010 4 2 10 14.0 6.0 40.0 8.0 4. 300.0 10 4 2 30 40.0 20.0 120.0 20.0 5.100.0 10 4 2 10.0 15.0 5.0 40.0 10.0 6. 200.0 10 4 2 20.0 28.0 12.0 80.016.0 7. 300.0 10 4 2 30.0 45.0 15.0 120.0 30.0 8. 155 20 14 2 5.16 5.325.0 72.24 0.32

From the examples shown in the above Table 1 it is clear that in case ofa certain parameter set, the extent of the oveprojection of the primaryteeth relative to the entire length of the teeth, i.e. the ratio t/h, isapproximately 50 to 66% (see lines 1 to 7 of Table 1), whereas withother parameter sets the afore-mentioned overprojection ratio may beeven significantly less. In line 8 of Table 1, for example, this ratiois only about 6%. In this latter case, however, the relatively greaternumber of the teeth provides the necessary friction between the primaryteeth, which engage to a less extent, so that the bodies formed from theplates are still properly stable.

The above principle of modularity can be defined in general terms in amanner that after connecting rectangular prisms made from the set ofconstruction elements according to the invention, the lengths s1, s2 ofthe peripheral edges of the plates (which have a generally rectangularfigure) that extend in the same plane should satisfy the followingcondition:

2*s1+t=s2;

or by replacing the above expression T=p*sz into it:

2*s1+p*sz=s2

where s1≤s2, and where the lengths of the peripheral edges of the platesare defined by the lengths of the orthogonal peripheral edges of thecentral part of the plates.

An exemplary set of parameters may be the following:

-   -   if p=2 and k=4, then n=10.

If the width sz of the teeth is sz=L/10, then the length L of therectangular prisms and the width w of their base can be calculated as:

L=n*sz

w=k*sz

and from the thickness v of the plates the length h of the primary teethcan be expressed by:

h=2*sz−v

By extrapolating the above set of conditions, the longer edge of asuccessively larger rectangle will have a parameter value of m=22, wherem is the aggregate number of the teeth and toothless sections along thelonger edge of the rectangle. By calculating with these values and athickness v of 5 mm of the plates, the length h of the primary teethwill be 15 mm and the width sz of the teeth will be 10 mm if the lengthL of the rectangular prism is 100 mm.

For assembling life-sized toys and leisure-time tools, a multiple of theabove values may be more suitable, wherein a possible set of such set ofparameters may be as follows:

-   -   v=18 mm, t=24 mm, h=42 mm, sz=30 mm, L=300 mm.

It is noted that where the plates of the construction set are providedwith uniformly distributed teeth, the width of the toothless sectionshave the same width sz as that of the teeth. It also appreciated thatthe teeth are not distributed uniformly. In this case the width of thetoothless sections is necessarily an odd multiple of the width sz of theteeth.

During use of the set of construction elements according to theinvention, there may be such a connecting operation (mainly at theconnection of bodies) in which certain teeth have to be bent, thereforein a preferred embodiment of the invention the plates are made of aflexible material, for example plastic.

With a plate thickness of 5 mm, in view of the double requirement ofrigidity and flexibility, which is occasionally needed for theconnection, the most suitable materials are foams of high-densityplastics (e.g. polyethylene, polyurethane). The static friction of thesefoam materials is high enough to provide the necessary level of frictionbetween the contacting side surfaces of the opposite engaging teeth,even if they have relatively small contacting surfaces. The low densityof the foam materials allows to form life-sized objects in a safemanner. The small thickness of the plates results in a lower level ofmaterial consumption, the relatively low number of the differentconstruction elements leads to a reduced need of tools, and these twofactors together result in a lower manufacturing cost.

Regarding the plates of the set of construction elements according tothe invention, three-layer or five-layer corrugated cardboards also havegood properties, the production costs of which are still lower, and theycan be made even from recycled material. However, these materials cannotcompete with the plastic materials regarding the wide range of theircolors, durability, flexibility and water resistance.

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of a number of exemplary construction elementsof universal interconnectable rectangular prisms that can be made from aset of construction elements according to the invention, wherein saidprisms can be attached to each other along any one of their faces in adirection parallel to any one of their lateral edges.

In this embodiment a plurality of teeth of different lengths are formedalong the peripheral edges of the plates 13 to 18 having a central partof rectangular shape (or in a special case, square shape). The length hof the primary teeth 42 corresponds to the sum of the thickness v of theplates and the overprojection t, i.e. h=v+t. Between the primary teeth42, some shorter secondary teeth 42′ are formed at a given frequency(e.g. in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, at every third position). Thelength h′ of the shorter secondary teeth is equal to or smaller than thethickness v of the plates 13 to 18. However, the toothless sections 43between the teeth 42 and 42′ still have a constant width sz for the sakeof connectivity of the plates 13 to 18.

In the embodiments shown in FIG. 4, wherein a secondary tooth is formedat every third position, the frequency of the secondary teeth 42′ is theconsequence of the parameter set including p=2, k=4 and n=10. In case ofother parameter values the frequency of the secondary teeth 42′ may, ofcourse, be different. The use of the shorter secondary teeth 42′ isnecessary in those cases where there is a demand for the connectivity ofthe bodies not only in one certain orientation, since upon rotation ofthe bodies by 180 degrees, it can occur that along one or more lateraledges of the corresponding faces, the opposite teeth can get into thesame positions, which prevents those faces from being attached to eachother.

FIG. 5 is an axonometric view of an exemplary universal rectangularprism 19 made from the set of construction elements shown in FIG. 4,wherein said prisms can be attached to each other at any one of theirfaces in a direction parallel to any one of their edges.

As it can be seen in FIG. 5, two opposite lateral edges of everyconstruction element comprises a secondary tooth 42′ in addition to theprimary teeth 42.

FIG. 6 is an axonometric view of a module assembled from two square-baseprisms made from the set of construction elements according to theinvention, and wherein said prisms comprise two shorter plates 24 ontheir bottom and top faces, as well as a respective modified plate 26therebetween.

FIG. 7 illustrates the modified plate 26 shown in FIG. 6, as well assome further modified plates 25, 27, 28 in top plan view, wherein saidfurther modified plates are also shaped according to the same principleas the plate 26, and they are all adapted to interconnectthree-dimensional bodies in a bridging manner, i.e. where a modifiedplate is used as a common element of two adjacent bodies.

The modified plates 25 to 28 comprise, along the lateral edges of therectangle defining their central part, within one or more toothlesssections 43, a plurality of indents 60 extending orthogonally to therespective lateral edges, as well as rectangular apertures 41 atpredetermined positions within the plane figure, wherein the length ofthe indents 60 and the apertures 41 is equal to at least the width sz ofthe teeth 42, 42′ shown in the previous figures, and wherein the widthof the indents 60 and the apertures 41 is equal to at least thethickness of the plates 25 to 28. The indents 60 and the apertures 41allow the use of the plates 25 to 28 as bridging elements for theinterconnection of two bodies.

The positions of the indents 60 and the apertures 41 are defined, forexample, in a manner that two or more identically sized plates of anykind having a rectangular or square central part as shown in FIGS. 1.aand 1.b, are slided into each other in the same plane, and they arecombined so that the opposite edges of the square central parts shouldbe at a distance q from each other, said distance q being equal to thethickness v of the plates (i.e. q=v). Subsequently, the thus obtainedindents 60 and apertures 41 having a width q and a length sz may beslightly extended if necessary in either or both directions so that theteeth of another connecting plate can be occasionally inserted into saidindents 60 or said apertures 41 even at an angle different from theright angle. For example, FIG. 7 shows some modified plates 25 to 28which are derived from the afore-mentioned combination of two or moreplates 2 shown in FIG. 1.a. For example, the modified plate 25 iscreated from eight plates 2, the modified plate 26 is created from twoplates 2, the modified plate 27 is created from four plates 2 and themodified plate 28 is created from three plates 2.

As it is clearly shown in FIG. 6, the rectangular prisms 20, 21 are heldtogether not only by means of the static friction between the contactingside surfaces of the engaged teeth, but the teeth inserted in theindents 60 and the apertures 41 formed on the modified plate 26 alsoconsiderably increase the stability of the whole assembly. When thesemodified plates 25 to 28 are used, the interconnected bodies, which areconnected to each other by means of teeth, cannot be withdrawn in agiven direction (namely, in any direction parallel to the plane of themodified plate), therefore the complex bodies can be attached to eachother in an even more secure way and thereby the assemblies formed ofmultiple bodies can be made very stable.

It should be noted that due to the geometry the modified plates 25 to 28fitting to the plates 1 to 9 shown in FIGS. 1.a-b and to the plates 13to 18 shown in FIG. 4, the modified plates 25 to 28 are also suitablefor using them as general construction elements. In case the plates 25to 28 are flexible, any one of the plates 25 to 28 used as a bridgingelement can be bent at a line of junction of the bodies which the plateitself interconnects, and this plate can be bent back onto itself evenat 180 degrees, which further increases the range of use of the set ofconstruction elements according to the invention. If any one of theplates 25 to 28 is bent back onto itself at 180 degrees, those primaryteeth of the interconnected bodies which get into opposite positions,will still fit to one another appropriately.

FIGS. 8.a and 8.b are side views of the body of two prisms 110, 111 madefrom the set of construction elements according to the invention in aninitial state of the body (FIG. 8.a), and in a 180 degree fold-backstate thereof (FIG. 8.b). It is noted that the teeth provided on theback sides of the bodies are not illustrated in FIGS. 8.a-b for the sakeof simplicity. In this assembly, on the bottom side of the tworectangular prisms, a common bridging plate 26 is arranged to form apart of the bottom side of both rectangular prisms and also to provide astable binding between the two rectangular prisms. At the junction ofthe two rectangular prisms, the plate 26 can be easily bent and as shownin FIG. 8.b, one of the rectangular prisms can be bent onto the otherone through bending the plate 26 at 180 degrees, and thus the respectivesides of the two rectangular prisms (110, 111) can be attached to eachother also by means of the teeth 42, which allows a further advantageoususe of the set of construction elements according to the invention. Tothis end it is, of course, necessary that at least the plate 26 is madeof a substantially flexible material. As shown in FIGS. 8.a and 8.b, inthis case the upper plates 24 a, 24 b of the two bodies are necessarilyprovided as two separate plates.

FIGS. 9.a and 9.b are a side view (FIG. 9.a) and a top plan view (FIG.9.b) of a body formed from two prisms made from the set of constructionelements according to the invention, wherein a further constructionelement is put on the top face of the body to provide a more secureconnection between the two prisms. It is noted that the teeth on theback side of the bodies are not illustrated in FIG. 9.a for the sake ofsimplicity. In FIG. 9.a, the addition of a strong binding between therectangular prisms 39, 40 can be seen in a side view. As FIG. 9.aclearly shows, the bodies 39, 40 are connected to each other by means ofmodified plates 26 a, 26 b that lie on the outer surface of the topplates 31, 32 and the bottom plates 33, 34 of the bodies, respectively,said modified plates 26 a, 26 b having appropriate apertures and beingshaped according to the same principle as that of the modified plates 25to 28 shown in FIG. 7. The thus obtained bodies with reinforced binding,however, cannot be further extended on their sides containing theadditional modified plates 26 a, 26 b. These kinds of bodies can bebuilt, for example, from the plates 13 to 18 shown in FIG. 4 only if thesecondary teeth 42′ are at the appropriate positions and the length ofthe secondary teeth 42′ does not exceed the thickness v of the usedplates 13 to 18.

FIG. 10 is a top plan view of further construction elements 101 to 107adapted for an even more secure bridging interconnection ofthree-dimensional bodies in another preferred embodiment of the set ofconstruction elements according to the invention. These constructionelements differ from those ones shown in FIG. 7 in that in addition tothe internal apertures 41, further apertures 41′ are formed at theterminal teeth in a given direction, said further apertures 41 beingcapable of receiving the teeth of further transversally extendingplates, thereby further increasing the stability of a three-dimensionalbody assembled from such elements.

FIGS. 11.a and 11.b illustrate special applications of the constructionelements shown in FIG. 7, wherein various chains can be formed usingsaid construction elements. The condition of feasibility of the chainsshown in FIGS. 11.a-b is that the construction elements have to beflexible. To this end, the appropriate materials include, for example,polyethylene and polyurethane. FIG. 11.a illustrates a chain formed byinterlinking the plates 26 shown in FIG. 7, wherein the terminal teethin the longitudinal direction of the plates 26 are inserted into theapertures 41 or indents 60 of the two adjacent plates 26. FIG. 11.billustrate a chain in which the plates 26 shown in FIG. 7 are entirelyfolded back and the terminal teeth in the longitudinal direction of theplates 26 are inserted into the two apertures 41 and the two indents 60of a sequentially preceding plate 26.

FIGS. 12.a and 12.b illustrate a body 120 made using the set ofconstruction elements according to the invention, wherein two oppositefaces of the body 120 are each provided with a central hole 121. Asshown in FIG. 12, a rod 122 can be pushed through the hole 121, thus oneor more bodies 120 can be pulled onto a rod 122.

In view of the above, it can be established that the set of constructionelements according to the present invention has significant advantageswith regard to the prior art. These advantages include the large numberof configurations which can be formed from the relatively low number ofelements both in plane and in space, the simple connectivity anddisconnectivity of the elements and bodies, the establishment of stablebindings without the use of additional connecting elements, thepossibility of turning the elements or bodies at the joints, and theapplicability of the set of construction elements for small-dimensiontoys, life-sized toys and leisure-time tools (e.g. toy house, boat,floating sun-deck, etc.), as well as for any other general-purposebuildings.

Further advantages of the use of the set of construction elementsaccording to the invention are described below. The set of constructionelements according to the invention can be used not only indoor, butalso outdoor, and in the latter case it is preferably made of awater-resistant material. It is also preferred that closed bodies formedof the set of construction elements are filled in with a material sothat the bodies can carry even larger loads while floating on the water.

A further advantage of the present invention is that the length of theteeth along the peripheral edges of the plates having a rectangularshape are not necessarily the same, but the length of certain teeth canbe equal to or greater than the thickness of the plate. The rectangularprisms assembled from such plates can be attached to each other alongeach of their sides and in any direction parallel to any one of theiredges, and therefore the thus obtained larger objects may be attached toeach other via releasable bindings based on friction and can beseparated by their withdrawal with using a weak force.

Still another advantage of the present invention is that when the bodiesare formed from the set of construction elements through the engagementof the teeth in a manner that two or more adjacent bodies contain one ormore common bridging plates which comprise circumferential indents andalso comprise apertures at certain positions for receiving the teeth ofother plates, then the thus obtained larger objects consist of bodiesattached to each other by means of bindings of enhanced strength due tothe friction between the engaging teeth and also to the tensile strengthof the material of the common bridging elements. This allows theconstruction of extraordinary stable bodies. The afore-mentionedbridging elements may form a common plate of two or more bodies inthemselves, but they can be put on the existing side surfaces of thebodies as additional elements, too.

Finally, it is also an advantage of the present invention that when theadditional plates, which are put on a side of the bodies formed of theplates having simple geometric shapes, have the same thickness as theoverprojection of the teeth (and also have an appropriate profile), thenthe surface of the bodies can be made entirely flat, which have numerousapplication fields including, for example, the leisure-time tools (e.g.boat, floating sun-deck, toy house, stage) or construction buildings(e.g. wall, floor, etc.).

1. A set of construction elements comprising a plurality of flat plates(1-10, 13-18, 24-28) of a constant thickness (v), each plates having acentral part (K1-K10) with a planar figure defined by linear edges intop plane view, said plates being made of a material of high staticfriction, and wherein along at least one peripheral edge of the centralpart (K1-K10) of the plates (1-10, 13-18, 24-28) a plurality of teeth(42, 42′) of constant width (sz) laterally projecting therefrom and aplurality of toothless sections (43) are alternately arranged in amanner that while moving round the circumference of said plate (1-10,13-18, 24-28) in any direction, each one of the edges which comprisesteeth starts with a tooth (42, 42′) and ends with a toothless section(43), or vice versa, and wherein each one of the teeth (42, 42′) is inthe form of a body having edges orthogonal to the edges of the planarfigure forming the respective central part (K1-K10); characterized inthat on each plate (1-10, 13-18, 24-28), at least a portion of the teethare primary teeth (42) with a length (h) measured in a directionorthogonal to the respective edge of said planar figure defining thecentral part (K1-K10), said length (h) exceeding the thickness (v) ofsaid plate, and wherein the length (h) of said primary teeth (42)satisfies the condition: h=2*sz−v, wherein one or more plates (1-10,13-18, 24-28) optionally comprise a plurality of secondary teeth (42′)having a length (h′) measured in a direction orthogonal to therespective edge of the plane figure defining the central part (K1-K10),said length (h′) being equal to or smaller than the thickness (v) of theplates (1-10, 13-18, 24-28), and wherein the width (sz), the length (h)and the overprojection (t) of the teeth and the thickness (v) of theplates satisfy the following dimensional conditions:p*sz=2*v+t;  a)h=v+t,  b) wherein p is a positive even number.
 2. The set ofconstruction elements according to claim 1, characterized in that theplanar figure is one or more planar figures selected from the group oftriangle, square, rectangle, pentagon, hexagon.
 3. The set ofconstruction elements according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized inthat the plates (25-28) comprise rectangular indents (60) in a portionof said toothless sections (43) along the peripheral edge of the planarfigure defining said central part (K1-K10), said indents being formed ina direction orthogonal to the respective edge of the planar figure, andwherein the plates further comprise rectangular apertures (41) atpredetermined positions inside the planar figure, wherein the length ofthe indents (60) and the apertures (41) is equal to or greater than thewidth (sz) of the teeth (42, 42′), and wherein the width (q) of theindents (60) and the apertures (41) is equal to or greater than thethickness (v) of the plates (25-28).
 4. The set of construction elementsaccording to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that one or moreplates (1-10) comprise solely primary teeth (42).
 5. The set ofconstruction elements according to any one of claims 1 to 4,characterized in that the plates (1-10, 13-18, 24-28) are made of amaterial selected from the group of plastic, in particular polyethyleneand polyurethane, wood and paper.
 6. The set of construction elementsaccording to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the plates(1-10, 13-18, 24-28) are made of a resilient, flexible material.
 7. Theset of construction elements according to claim 6, characterized in thatthe plates (1-10, 13-18, 24-28) can be bent by 180 degrees.
 8. The setof construction elements according to any one of claims 1 to 7,characterized in that the central part of the plates (13-18) has asquare or rectangular shape, and wherein the length (L) of one of theedges of the plates (13-18) and the length (w) of the other edge of theplates being orthogonal to the first one satisfy the followingconditions:L=n*sz;w=k*sz;ésn=2*k+p, where n, k and p are positive even numbers.
 9. A constructionassembly, characterized in that the construction assembly comprises aplurality of plates (1-10, 13-18, 24-28) of the set of constructionelements according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein said plates areconnected to each other in plane or in space, and wherein the engagingprimary teeth (42), and optionally the engaging secondary teeth (42′),form releasable bindings by means of friction.
 10. A constructionassembly, characterized in that the construction assembly comprises aplurality of plates (13-18) of the set of construction elementsaccording to claim 8, wherein said plates are connected to each other inspace so that the plates (13-18) form one or more rectangular prisms,and wherein the engaging primary teeth (42), and optionally the engagingsecondary teeth (42′), form releasable bindings by means of friction.11. The construction assembly according to claim 10, characterized inthat the plates (13-18) of the set of construction elements formmultiple rectangular prisms of the same size, wherein for the edgelengths s1, s2 of at least one plate of said rectangular prisms satisfythe condition: 2*s1+p*sz=s2, where s1≤s2 and where the edge lengths s1,s2 of a plate are defined as the lengths of the mutually orthogonaledges of the central part of the plate, sz is the width of the teeth,and p is a positive even number.
 12. The construction assembly accordingto claims 9 to 11, characterized in that the plates (1-10, 13-18, 24-28)form a plurality of bodies (20, 21; 110, 111) and the constructionassembly comprises at least one modified plate (26) that entirely orpartly form one of the sides of two or more adjacent bodies (20, 21;110, 111), and wherein the adjacent bodies accommodate on the same sideof said common plate.
 13. The construction assembly according to any oneof claims 9 to 12, characterized in that the plates (1-10, 13-18, 24-28)form a plurality of bodies (31, 32), and wherein the constructionassembly comprises at least one modified plate (26 a, 26 b) that isarranged as an additional element on the respective faces of at leasttwo adjacent bodies (31, 32).